Erin Lovell Verinder

Erin Lovell Verinder is a herbalist and nutritionist who works out of the well-loved Orchard St clinic in Bronte. Erin helped me through my own health journey and is a passionate advocate for helping people heal and feel empowered in their own health. I spoke to both Erin about what to expect when going to see a natural health practitioner and the different treatment options available to those thinking about trying a holistic approach to their health.

Erin Lovell Verinder

I’m a nutritionist and herbalist with a background in energetic healing. I’ve been in the industry doing healing work for 13 years and practicing for 5. My background is Russian and my grandma was a gypsy, she used to read my palm and make me certain types of herbal teas. I guess it’s something that I always thought was pretty magical when I was little, working with herbs and anything mystical and intuitive. I also completed a Bachelor of Western Herbal Medicine and an Advanced Diploma of Nutrition. Most of the study is heavy science, and I felt it was good to ground my healing knowledge in a different way.

A naturopath is a well rounded umbrella term for someone who will use herbal medicine, nutrition, homeopathy, massage and flower essences. Everyone treats patients differently regardless of your training, but you will get similar treatment approaches. However a herbalist, for example, would have studied a bit more in depth about herbal medicine specifically. Same as with a nutritionist who would have studied more in depth with nutrition. I try to do my best to approach healing in a well rounded way as no-one is the same. It’s a terrible mistake to treat people in a formulaic way. When I see someone I just listen and also try to feel into what they need. So each treatment is completely different. In saying that there are some things that I utilise more than the next. I utilise herbs and nutritional medicine more than anything. I don’t have one treatment approach but I pull from that kind of old-school traditional knowledge and then bridge it with modern evidence-based techniques. It’s very different to seeing a typical GP, where you are in and out in 15 minutes and you might only be able to tell them about one health issue without connecting the dots. In no way am I against doctors themselves, I think they do incredible work, it’s just the system.

The difference with a holistic approach is that the patient holds the space and they are heard. When someone comes in you have an initial consultation that’s just over an hour and there’s lots of questions around your lifestyle, family history, diet and any current &ongoing health complaints. Then we make a treatment plan and determine what it is you are looking to work on specifically.

It can vary so much but the main thing is that if people have a chronic issue with an unknown cause and they can’t resolve it themselves or with their GP then it’s a good idea to get a different perspective. From an acute cold or digestive issues to a chronic autoimmune condition anyone can benefit from seeing a natural health practitioner, even if it’s just to get some tools on understanding how to manage your diet.

One thing I’m always saying to people is that you are working with plant energy and plant medicine. It’s not just a medicine in a bottle, there’s a whole story of where and how that grew. I’m always trying to get people to connect with that. I think it’s so important to be empowered in your healing process so if I’m giving someone supplements I always try to outline what that is specifically working on..

I think so many people feel disempowered with their own health because they’ve been told there’s no answer to their health issue or there’s nothing they can do for their symptoms. So it’s actually about you stepping into your own power and healing yourself, we’re just here to facilitate.